EUROPEAN UNION Committee of the Regions Natural cross-border barriers to the development of Trans-European Transport Networks Natural cross-border barriers to the development of Trans-European Transport Networks CoR Studies ../2006 Brussels, October 2006 Editor: Dr. Jaap Vleugel (Delft University of Technology) With contributions by: Dr. Jaap Vleugel (Delft University of Technology) [ch. 1-4, 6-8] Dr. Dominic Stead (Delft University of Technology) [ch. 7] Mr. Jan-Jacob Trip (Delft University of Technology) [ch. 5] This study was produced by OTB Research Institute, sections V&I and SRO, Delft, the Netherlands. It does not represent the official views of the Committee of the Regions. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2006. ISBN … © European Communities, 2006. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER EUROPEAN UNION Committee of the Regions Foreword … Table of contents Executive summary ................................................................................ 1 General introduction.......................................................................... 13 1. A Trans-Pyrenean Central Passage.................. 21 1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 21 1.2 The relevant TEN-T infrastructure ............................................................ 22 1.3 Transport, traffic and economics ................................................................ 26 1.4 Economic and financial setting.................................................................... 29 1.5 Institutional setting............................................................................................. 30 1.6 Main conclusions ................................................................................................ 33 References ...................................................................................................................... 33 2. The Brenner Base Tunnel.................................................. 37 2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 37 2.2 The relevant TEN-T infrastructure ............................................................ 38 2.3 Transport, traffic and economics ................................................................ 44 2.4 Economic and financial setting.................................................................... 45 2.5 Institutional setting............................................................................................. 48 2.6 Main conclusions ................................................................................................ 49 References ...................................................................................................................... 49 3. The railway bridge at Kehl ............................................. 53 3.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 53 3.2 The relevant TEN-T infrastructure ............................................................ 54 3.3 Transport, traffic and economics ................................................................ 57 3.4 Economic and financial setting.................................................................... 58 3.5 Institutional setting............................................................................................. 59 3.6 Main conclusions ................................................................................................ 61 References ...................................................................................................................... 61 4. The Lanaye/Lanaken locks ............................................. 65 4.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 65 4.2 The relevant TEN-T infrastructure ............................................................ 66 4.3 Transport, traffic and economics ................................................................ 68 4.4 Economic and financial setting.................................................................... 70 4.5 Institutional setting............................................................................................. 71 4.6 Main conclusions ................................................................................................ 73 References ...................................................................................................................... 73 5. The Øresund fixed link........................................................... 75 5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 75 5.2 The relevant TEN-T infrastructure ............................................................ 75 5.3 Economic and financial setting.................................................................... 78 5.4 Problems encountered during and after construction ....................... 80 5.5 Main conclusions ................................................................................................ 82 References ...................................................................................................................... 83 6. Motorways of the Baltic Sea.......................................... 85 6.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 85 6.2 The relevant TEN-T infrastructure ............................................................ 86 6.3 Transport, traffic and economics ................................................................ 92 6.4 Economic and financial setting.................................................................... 94 6.5 Institutional setting............................................................................................. 98 6.6 Main conclusions .............................................................................................. 101 References .................................................................................................................... 102 7. Working models ............................................................................... 107 7.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................... 107 7.2 Financial barriers and options to remove them.................................. 107 7.3 Institutional barriers and options to remove them............................ 111 7.4 Material from the workshop........................................................................ 124 7.5 Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 126 References .................................................................................................................... 127 8. Main conclusions and recommendations129 Appendix 1: Questionnaire for experts .............................................................................. 133 Appendix 2: The International Workshop......................................................................... 135 Executive summary Cross-border regions and TEN-T Cross-border regions are witnessing the benefits and costs of modern mass transport. Their infrastructure, which used to have a local or regional function, cannot cope with mass transport of people and goods that is mainly directed towards other regions or countries. Liveability and the environment are at stake. New infrastructure concepts, in particular, the Trans European Transport Networks (TEN-T) proposed by the EU are seen as a solution for transport problems, a support vehicle for economic development and a contribution to social cohesion. Whether border regions will benefit from this new infrastructure depends on many factors. First, does the new or upgraded infrastructure allow the provision of (new) local or regional services or does it not, because higher level (high-speed rail or freight rail) services replace such local or regional services? Are such services also planned? Second, what is the net environmental impact of the project? Third, does the project influence the local or regional economic base in the longer-term (e.g., impact on tourism)? Fourth, do the regions that benefit (usually the larger nodes/cities in a country) compensate the regions that ‘loose’ connections or environment in some way? These are very relevant questions, because the answers influence local or regional support for infrastructure projects. Installing new infrastructure is a long process, in which many technical-, institutional-, organizational- and financial issues have to be solved. Without local or regional support this process may take much longer or even stop. The TEN-T program is an important element of the European Initiative for Growth. TEN-T carries a price tag in the order of 600 billion Euros. This is a very large amount of money compared to what is actually available. There is in fact a major lack of funds. In the past decades, spending on